Sunday, November 7, 2010

A Franciscan Benedicion

May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that we may live deep within our hearts.

May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, hunger, and war, so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done, to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

When you run laps at the gym several times a week, you get through a lot of music on your mp3 player, including stuff that you haven't listened to in ages. I feel like my musical taste has changed somewhat over the past few years, but it's nice when the music you liked once upon a time is still able to convict you and remind you of truth.


Can I look past the cliche in every moment?
Can I learn to be amazed by you?
Can I find a simple way to praise you
Even if it's already used?
Can I put my pride aside
And learn to sing in time with someone elses phrases?

I love you
I love you
I love you
Nothing new

-Sanctus Real

Monday, December 21, 2009

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
And my spirit exalts in God my Saviour
For He has looked with mercy on my lowliness
And so my name will be forever exalted
For the mighty God has done great things for me
And his mercy shall reach from age to age

And holy, holy, holy is his name.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Even Math Sucks Sometimes

Math studying is about killing me, so... I will blog instead! Oh escapism. What a good tactic.

What to write? Hmmm... perhaps a Christmas exam poem.

The tree is up
The lights are blinking
But Janna's work ethic
Sure is stinking

Imaginary numbers
Are in my head
I'd rather the integral
Of -i was dead.

My coffee with eggnog
Is the best part of my day
I think I may be addicted
But what can I say?
I like coffee

Ok, as much as I would love to continue poem-ing, I actually need to get back to work. If I never blog again, it is because complex analysis actually murdered me.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Silence

I just finished the book Silence, by Shusaku Endo. It is about the persecution of Christians in Japan in the 1600's. The main character is a priest who is determined to die for his faith if that is what it takes. Throughout the book, he is willing to face persecution, but he refuses to aposticize - to trample on the picture of Christ, however, he is also distressed that God remains silent while all this persecution is happening. Near the end, he was told that if he did not aposticize, other Christians would be tortured to death. And as he prays that God will speak, that he will not remain silent any longer, the picture of the Christ that he is asked to trample on speaks to him:

"The priest raises his foot. In it he feels a dull, heavy pain. This is no mere formality. He will now trample on what he has considered the most beautiful thing in his life, on what he has believed most pure, on what is filled with the ideals and the dreams of man. How his foot aches! And then the Christ in bronze speaks to the priest: 'Trample! Trample! I more than anyone know of the pain in your foot. Trample! It was to be trampled on by men that I was born into this world. It was to share men's pain that I carried my cross.'"

There are many thoughts bouncing around in my head about all of this. Some of the stuff in the book seemed very profound, and I wish I had someone to discuss it with who had also read the book. It is making me wonder about the difference between what we believe with our hearts and what we confess with our mouths. It is making me think about which aspects of faith are universal, and which are cultural. It is bringing to mind our house church topic of the year so far: "So what is it that make this Good News so good?"

I think I'm getting better at pondering some of these things without needing to come to a concise answer. And I think that's ok, but not a prime situation for good blog posts.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

There is something deep
Deep inside us all
Some dark night
Begging for the day
It remains a longing
Only You can fill
Only You can fill
Oh when will we ever learn
Only you can fill


This is a song they sing at St. Ben's that I like very much.